The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on Wednesday inaugurated a committee to foresee the process of admissions for underage candidates.

The JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, disclosed this at the sidelines of the inaugural meeting of the committee members in Bwari, Federal Capital Territory.

Mr Oloyede said that the committee would decide modalities for determining `specially gifted candidates.

He said, “These are the 599 underage candidates who scored 320 and above in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). The committee will decide on the dates, what to do and set up who to pick at the end. They will pick candidates that are exceptionally brilliant to be dedecidento tertiary schools in order to encourage them.’’

The JAMB registrar noted that the committee meeting had the virtual presence of vice chancellors of Nigerian universities, regulatory agencies, some critical stakeholders and experts in education.

He added that the committee had resolved that between now and September those who would scale the hurdle among the 599 candidates would be announced.

He said, “Their school certificates will be weighed, which means they must have scored 80 per cent, and for the post-UTME, the institution will submit the scores of the candidates, latest by September 16. Any candidate who scores below 80 in the post-UTME is already out of it. We know that 16 years is the minimum for admission, but we should be able to pick one or two that are very brilliant for admissions to encourage them.’’

He noted that the panel would sit in Lagos, Abuja and Owerri.

Mr Oloyede urged parents to desist from desperation to send their children and wards at tender ages into tertiary institutions, saying that children needed time to develop naturally and mature.

He also cautioned against bribery to gain admission, saying that it was an anomaly to introduce the younger generation into the world of crime.

The registrar assured that the process for the admissions would be transparent and fair due to the quality of the committee members.

(NAN)